Draft-equalizer.



un. 678,497. Patented my 16,' 190|.

n. a. KILLEEN.

DRAFT EIIUALIZER.

(Applicntion mad Dsc. 13, 1900.)

(llo Initial.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

MICHAEL J. KILLEEN, OF SAUK CENTER, MINNESOTA.

DRAFT-EQUALIZER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 678,497, dated July16, 1901. Application liled December 13, 1900. Serial No. 39,747. (Nomodel.)

To a/ZZ whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, MICHAEL J. KILLEEN, a citizen of the UnitedStates,`residing at Sauk Center, in the county of Stearns and State ofMinnesota, have invented a new and useful Draft-Equalizer, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to draft appliances, and has for its object toprovide for connecting a plurality of draft-animals to a vehicle oragricultural machine so that the animals will draw evenly thereon. It isfurthermore designed to provide a compact arrangement of parts, so as toform a strong and durable device, to prevent looseness and jerking ofthe several draft connections, and to maintain a steady and even draft.

With these and other objects in View the present invention consists inthe combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter morefully described, shown in the accompanyingdrawings,and particularlypointed out in the appended claim, itbeing understood that changes inthe form, proportion, size, and minor details may be made within thescope of the claim without departing from the spirit or sacrificing anyof the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings, lFigure l is a top plan View of adraft-equalizerconstructed and arranged in accordance with the present invention. Fig.2 is a detail sectional view taken on the line ZJ h of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 isa similar view taken on the line a a of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detail plansection taken on the line c c of Fig. 3.

Like characters of reference designate corresponding parts in all oftheflgures of the drawings.

In carrying out the present invention I employ a support 1, preferablyan ordinary draft tongue or pole, to which are fulcrumed the oppositelaterallyprojecting long and short draw-bars 2 and 8, respectively,having the draft connections 4 and 5 applied to their respective outerfree ends. It is designed to provide the two draw-bars'with a commonfulcrum, which is accomplished by forming.

a concaved socket or recess 6 in the inner end of the short draw-bar, asbest shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, for the loose reception of therounded or convened inner end of the other draw-bar. Top and bottomlongitudinally-projecting plates 7 are secured to the inner end of. theshort draw-bar, so as to overlap the adjacent end of the other bar,andare provided with corresponding perforations for the reception of apivot-bolt 8,l which also passes loosely through the inner end of thelong draw-bar. A block 9 is secured to that side of the support ortongue which is next to the draw-bar 2, and the pivot or fulcrum boltalso passes through this block or lateral extension of the support. Asuitable brace 10 is secured to the top of the block and is inclinedupwardly and over the overlapped inner ends of the draw-bars, so as toconnect with the upper end of the bolt.

In rear of the draw-bars and projected from the tongue or support and inthe direction of the short draw-bar is an arm or bracket 11, having aplurality of perforations 12 and a forwardly-inclined brace 13,connected to the adjacent side of the tongue. This bracket or arm is forthe support of an equalizing-lever 14, which is fulcrumed at one side ofits middle to the under side of the bracket. The lever may be adjustedto any of the perforations in the arm or bracket, though ordinarily itis fulcrumed by the connection between the bracket and the brace 13, asplainly Y shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. To the opposite ends of thelever are connected the respective draft rods or links 15 and 16, whichare in turn connected to intermediate portions of the respectivedraw-bars by means of the chains 17 and 18, so as to form a exibleconnection between the draw-bars and the equalizing-lever. It will beobserved that the outer end portion of the equalizing-lever is thelonger and the opposite inner end terminates short of the support ortongue. Moreover, the fulcrums of the equalizing-lever and the draw-barsare located at opposite sides of the longitudinal axis of the tongue orsupport. By having flexible connections between the'draw-bars and theecpializ'ing-leverv the said bars may swing backwardly when the vehicleis being backed in order that said bars` may not interfere with thedraft-animals.

When the device is arranged for connec-v tion with a vehicle oragricultural implement without a pole or tongue, the support l shouldterminate at the draw-bars and a chain (not shown) employed to connectthe fulcrum of the eqnalizing-lever to the front axle of 'the vehicle orimplement.

In a draft-equalizer, the combination with a support, having front andrear lateral brackets at opposite sides thereof, a long draw-barprojecting laterally from the support in the direction of the frontbracket, a Short drawbar projecting in the opposite direction, a commonfulcrum connecting the inner ends of both bars to the front bracket, anequalizing-lever fulcrumed at the inner side of its

